Redesign placeholder tilemap for a mini-game

[jgbourque]

Why this task matters

The visual layout of your scenes sets the stage for your game. Making small edits to the tile map helps you personalize your StoryQuest and connect it to the theme, tone, or mood of your narrative. Revisit the Redesign placeholder tilemap for the intro & outro tutorial if needed.

Tips

These suggestions build on what you already know about tilemaps from working on intro and outro scenes. In mini-games, you're designing areas the player actively interacts with - spaces where gameplay happens. This often requires more care, testing, and organization. Your maps may also be larger or more complex. Consider the following:

1. Rough Sketch First
Sketch your level on paper with teammates to align on the player's route and gameplay. Then, in Godot, build the main path first, add collision early, and save decoration for last. This gives teammates a clear layout to begin placing dialogue, characters, art, or puzzle elements.

2. Start Small and Test Often
Try any new tile, collision setting, or tilemap layer in a small area before committing. Run the scene and walk your player over it. You might catch:

• Missing or incorrect collisions
• Gaps or tiles not displaying as expected
• Layers drawn out of order in the scene tree

3. Keep Tilemaps Organized Using Node2Ds
The mini-game templates already include a TileMapLayers node. Use this to group all your tilemap layers in one place. If you add more layers , this will help keep things clean and easy to find. You can add additional Node2Ds and use this same grouping strategy for other common groups of components, too.

4. Use Multiple Layers - Don’t Overload One
Instead of putting every tile type (walls, grass, bridges, decorations) on the same tilemap layer:

• Use separate tilemap layers for each type or purpose
• Prevents visual glitches between tiles
• Makes it easier to toggle collision or rearrange visuals later

5. Adjust Layer Order in the Scene Tree
Keep in mind that Tilemap layers at the top of the Scene Tree appear underneath other layers in-game. To change what appears in front or behind, just drag layers up or down in the tree.

6. Lock Layers You’re Done With
Use the lock icon above the viewport to lock tilemap layers once finished. This keeps you from accidentally selecting or changing them while adjusting characters, objects, or puzzle elements sitting on top.